Container and closure with opening means therefor



P'. V Dl COSMO May 8, 1945.

' CONTAINER AND CLOSURE WITH OPENING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Dec. 3, 1942PASQUALE 1/. dz cos/)0 A TTOR/VE Y opened, by puncturing the fibrousedges from which Patented May 8, 1945 CONTAINER AND CLOSURE WITH OPENINGI I MEANSTHEREFOR,

Pasquale V.

Di Cosmo, PhillipsburgQNnl, as-

signor to The Canister Company, Phillipsburg,

J., a corporation. of New Jersey Application December 3, 1942, SerialNo. 467,804 Claims. (Cl. 229-41) This invention relates to containersand the like and particularly to constructions whereby containers may beeffectively sealed but are ca pable of being readily opened and emptied.

Containers embodying the present invention maybe formed of any preferredmaterial andshipping products may be used for storing and in any desiredform, such as liquids, pastes or powders. However, for purposesofillustration the containers hereafter described in detail are formedoffibrous material and are designed for use with liquids, such aslubricatingroil.

Containers used heretofore forlubricating oil cansand have been top ofthe can and the metal inward adjacent This method of opening havegenerally .been tin turning a portion of the edge of the can.

containers is objectionable because the material turned inward obstructsthe flow of liquid from the container so that complete emptying thereofis difiicult whereas the stream of liquid formed is frequently dividedor irregularand cannot be easily directed. Moreover, metal containersare expensive and are not available .for many purposes at the presenttime. On the other hand containers formed, of fibrous materials, when Ithick or heavy enough for. the storage and shipment of oil are difiicultto seal and when punctured or opened by tearing they present rough loosefibers and fragments are removed bythe oil and carried into the crankcase of the engine where they clog pipe lines, pumps, filters andothermechanism.

.In accordance with the present invention a fibrous container isprovided which possesses the requisite strength for use as a containerfor oils,

paints and othermaterials but the sealing of the container isestablished by the use of thin flexible means and an oil resistantsealing compound. Moreover, the container is formed With a portioncapable of being displaced to provide a free unobstructed dischargeopening adjacent the edge of the container while the surfaces contactedby the oil on discharge thereof are clean, smooth and freeof all loosefibers or portions which might contaminate the oil.

In general, containers embodying the present invention have .a closurememberwhich includes a relatively stiff, strong closure element formedof chip-board, kraft or other paper stock, and a thin flexible sealingelement made of oil and liquid resistant parchment paper, Cellophane,metal foil or other, material which may be torn but does not present anyfree, loose fibers'capable of ready removal. The stiff portion of theclosure'member is pre-cut by a sharp die or other toolalong spaced lineswhich extend inward from the edge of the disc so as to provide adisplaceable portion with a smooth clean surface for contact with thematerial the container. Containers so formed are strong, and leak-proofas wellas being neat and attractive in appearance. Moreover, they arealso tamper-proof in that they cannot be opened without being renderedunsuitable for reuse.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide novel and economicalmethods and means for sealing a container while providing for readyopening thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to providea novel type ofcontainer formed of fibrous material and having displaceable meansmovable to form a discharge opening havingsm'ooth, clean edges free ofloose fibers or broken fragments which might contaminate the contents ondischarge thereof fromthe container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container withdisplaceable means to form a discharge opening in the container andmeans for sealing the container serving to hold the displaceable meansin place. i

A further object of the invention is to provide an improvedtamper-proofand nonrefillable fibrous container.

These and other objects and features of the invention will appear fromthe following description thereof in Whichreference is made to thefigures of the accompanying drawing. 1 In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a portion of a container and closure memberembodying the present invention and arrangedin position for assembly.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the closure member inposition on the container.

3 Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the construction shown in Fig.2 with theclosure member thereof.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the sealed container withthe displaceable portion moved to'open the container.

In that form of the invention illustrated in the drawing thebody of thecontainer is shownat 3.

and preferably is formed of spirally wound fibrous material such aschip-board, kraft paper or other fi rous stock having a liner 4 of oilresistant material such as are described in the patentto Kernahan No.-2,202,558. The end closure member 6 of the container embodies a disc 8formed of stiff material' being discharged from parchment paper on theinner face Container bodies of this general type such as chip-board anda liner or sealing element l located adjacent the lower or inner facethereof.

The disc 8 includes the displaceable portions l2 which are formed bycuts M which as shown extend radially inward from the edge It of thedisc to points I8 spaced from the center of the disc. It is preferableto form a. score'line on the upper surface of the'disc and extendingfrom the inner extremity N3 of one cut M to the inner extremity of theother so portion [2, the cuts l4 and desired a second score line 22 maybe formed in the lower face of the disc to increase the flexibility ofthe disc at the score line withoutmaterially weakening the disc.

The cuts l4 are formed in the disc by means of a die or a sharpinstrument which serves to form a clean, smooth out edge 24 having nofree fibers or broken parts which might become disengaged or removed bythe oil or other materialthat the displaceable" portion is defined bythe marginal edge 16 of the the score line 20. If Y as it flows incontact therewith. The score line 20 does not extend through the discbut serves only to define a hinge or line of bending so that the portionl2 may be forced inward to the positionjshown in Fig. 4 to open thecontainer withoutbreaking the disc along the score line or causing it torupture or expose any rough fibrous surface.

The disc 8 is preferably secured to the sealing element In so that bothmay be applied to the container body as a, unit and in asingle opera-,-

tion. For this purpose the disc 8 is cut from a. fiat sheet of chipboardand the cuts 14 are. formed therein by means of a die or other toolwhile the sealing element I0 is similarly cut from aflat sheet ofparchment paper and has a larger diameter than the disc 8. These partsare then assembled and secured together by means such as the glue 26.The glue preferably does not extend to the cuts 14, and therefore itdoes not prevent ready displacement of the portion l2 or cause. thematerial at the edges of the cuts to be broken,

away when the container is opened.

The disc 8 and sealing element when so assembled form the closuremember6 which is shown in Fig. l in position'to beapplied to the containerbody 2. In applying theclosure member a sealing composition such as glue28 is apcess glue beyond that required for effectively sealing the spacebetween the sealing element andthe liner 4 of the body is forced inwardso as to tautagainst the lower face of the disc and serves to supportthe discrigidly in place. The displaceable portion I2 of the disc isthereby supported, from below by the sealing element and the free edgeN5 of portion I2 is further supported by the gasket of glue or sealingcompound beneath the sealing element. In completing the sealing of thecontainer the rim 28 is turned inward over the outer marginal portion.of the disc 8 to form the retaining bead movement of the disc ordisplaceableportion I2 is prevented.

In this way the, disc 8 is firmly clamped be-' tween the sealing elementand bead 44 so that the closure member is rendered strong enough towithstand any ordinary impacts or forces to which the container may besubjected during shipping,- handling or. storage thereof.

All of the operations required for applying the closure member may beperformed simultaneously by means of a die which pushesthe disc 8 intothe end of the body at the same time that it turns the marginal edges ofthe sealing elementdownward about the outer surfaces 34 of the body.

During the final stage of movement of the die to-' ward the containerbody the portion thereof which turns the sealing element down about therim 30 forces the rim inward to form the retaining bead44. By using'aheated die the fiuxing of the sealing compound and the molding of therim into the head 44 are facilitated.

After the container has been sealed as described a label or wrapper 46is applied about the body of the container with the edges of the labelplied to the rim 30 of the body and extends over the inner and outersurfaces 32 and 34 respectively of the body adjacent the rim. The discand sealing element are then moved axially toward the container body toa point slightly inward from the rim 30 as shown in Fig. 2. At the sametimev the vportion 36 of thesealing element near theedge 16 of the disc8 is turned upward and formed to the shape of they glue bearing innersurface 32 of the container body while the outer marginal portions 38 ofthe sealing element are turned downward about the outer gluebearingsurface 34 of the container body. As the disc 8 is forced into the endof the container the portions 36 and 38 of the sealing element arecaused to wipe over the glue 28 so that the glue is spread over thesealing element and is folded into wrinkles or crevices in the formedportions 36 and-38 to completely seal the joint between the sealingelement and the container body. Moreover, since the diameter of thestiff disc ,8' is substantially equal to the internal diameter of thebody, the sealing element is squeezed or forced against the innersurface 32 during this operation. As a result of this squeezing anye'xcontainer is filled from the; opposite end and extending over theedges 38 of thesealing ele-" ment so that a neat attractive finishedcontainer is obtained. However. when, as is preferred, the

thereafter sealed by the method and construction described in theapplication for patent of Di Cosmo Serial No. 467,805 filed December 3,1942,

I the wrapper 46 is notapplied until after such operations have beenperformed.

When it is desired to open the container a blunt instrument is pressedagainst the displace-- able portion. I2 of the disc to push it inward.When. pressed hard enough the sealing. element 8 is ruptured, thesupporting sealing gasket of glue 4 0 is broken and the portion i2 isturned inward about the score lines 20 and 22 to the position shown inFig. 4 forming a discharge opening 48. Moreover, it is foundv inpractice that, the portion of the liner 4 of the container body adjacentthe portion 12 of the closure disc -8 is so bonded to the adjacentportion of the a diaphragm that when the portion I! of the disc isforced inward and the diaphragm ruptured in opening the container, aportion of the liner 4 is torn downward and strippedf'rom the fibrousbody of the container. In this wayQthe body is 44 so that outward anyloose detachable fibers. be discharged through the discharge openingexposed to the contents of the container as they arejpoured therefromand the container body is softened and permeated by liquid so that itbecomes weakened and contaminated, andthe container may not again bereused. The sealing element, being formed of parchment paper or othermaterial which does 'not'yield free fibers or loose bits of material,does not contaminate the oil whereas the smooth out surfaces 24 on theinner edge of the opening 48 and on the outer edge of the displaceablemember are also free of The oil can then without danger of contaminationand without obstruction so thatthe container may be completely emptied.Furthermore sealing element II! is destroyed in opening the containerand displacement of the portion I2 produces such distortion. of thefibrous disc that it cannot be restored to permit reuse of thecontaineror substitution of its contents. The container is thereforetamper-proof,

I claim;

l. A container having a body of circular cross section provided withmeans closing the end thereof comprising, a rupturable sealing elementextending across the end of the body and secured thereto, and a disctioned wholly within'the body and having spaced cuts extending inwardfrom the periphery thereof to provide a displaceable portion having afree edge located adjacent the inner surface of the container body, saiddisc overlyingthe sealin'g' element and being held in place with itsedges adjacent the container body so that the free edge ofthedisplaceable portion of the disc between said cuts is capable ofbeing moved inward to rupture the sealing element and form a dischargopening in thedisc.

2. A container for liquids having a body of circularcross section formedof fibrous material and lined with sheet material with means closing theend of the body comprising, a liquidresistant parchment sheet whichextends across the end of the body and has its marginal portions securedto the linerof the body while the center thereof is located inward fromthe extremity of .the container body, a closure element formed of a discof stifi fibrous material positioned wholly within the body and havingspaced sharply defined cuts extending inward from the periphery thereofto provide a displaceable portion having a free edge adjacent the linerof the container body, said disc engaging and being supported by thecentral portion of the sealing element, the extremity of the containerbody being turned inward over the edge of the disc to hold itin placewhereby the free edge of the displaceable portion of the disc betweensaid cuts may be forced inward to rupture the sealing element and forman unobstructed discharge opening from which.the contents of thecontainer may be poured.

3. A container having a body of circular cross section with meansclosing the end thereof comprising, a rupturable sealing elementextending across the end of the body and secured thereto,

and a disc of stiif fibrous material positioned wholly within the bodyand with spaced sharply defined cuts extendinginward from the peripheryof th disc to provide a displaceable'portion having a free edge locatedadjacent the inner surface of the container body and having their innerextremities joined by a score line, said disc being positioned to engagethe sealing element and supported at its edges adjacent the containerbody whereby the free edge of the displaceable portion of the discbetween the cuts may be p forced inward about said core line as a pivotto rupture the sealing element and form an .unobstructed dischargeopening in the end of the container.

4. A container having a body of circular cross section with meansclosing the end thereof comprising, a rupturable sealing elementextending formed of stiff material posi across the end of the body andsecured thereto,

and a. disc of stiiT fibrous material positioned wholly within the bodyand with spaced sharply defined cuts xtending inward from the peripheryof the disc to provide a displaceable portion having a. free edgelocated adjacenttheinner surface of the container portion and havingtheir inner extremities joined by a score line, said disc beingpositioned to engage the sealing element and supported at its edgesadjacent the container body, the rim of the container body being turnedinward over theedges of the disc to hold it in place, whereby the freeedge of the displaceable portion of the disc between the cuts may beforced inward about said score line as a pivot to rupture the sealingelement and form an unobstructed discharge opening in the end of thecontainer.

5. A container having abody formed of fibrous material and lined withsheet material with means closing the end of the body comprising, a

sheet which extends across the end of the body and has its marginalportions secured to the liner of the body while the center thereof islocated inward from the extremity of the container body, a, closureelement formed of a disc of material positioned wholly within the bodyand having outs extending inward from.the' edges thereof to provide adisplaceable portion having a free edge adjacent the liner of thecontainer body, said disc engaging and being supported by the centralportion of the sealing element, the end i of the container body beingturned inward over the edge of the disc to hold it in place whereby thefree edge of the displaceable portion of the disc between said cuts maybe forced inward to rupture the sealing element and form an unobstructeddischarge. opening from which the contents of the container maybepoured.

PASQUALE V. DI COSMO.

